I love cats’ whiskers!  They are a little bit strange, aren’t they?  They have whiskers where we have eyebrows, and they have neat little rows of approximately twelve on each side of their face and a couple under their chin.  Have you ever noticed that they have them just above their front paws- on the back?  So, what are they?  Well, they are made up of keratin, similar to horns.  I think of them as being similar to our eyelashes.   If you brush your fingers across your eyelashes, you can feel how sensitive your eyelids are to their movement.  For cats, it’s like that but magnified.  In this post, we are going to talk about exactly why cats have sensitive whiskers.

1. Protection.  I said that cat’s whiskers were most similar to our eyelashes, so I’ll start there.  Our eyelashes protect our eyes from debris, and so do cats’ whiskers protect them.  When a cat’s whisker feels a tickle from debris or something dangerous in the environment, the cat feels it through the whiskers.  This can protect their eyes from all manner of debris, thorns, or anything that might get into the cat’s eyes. 
2. Navigation.  When you get up in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom, but you want to stay sleepy, so you don’t turn on the light- what do you do?  You reach your hands out in front of you and feel your way there!  Cats can’t do that because they walk on their four paws.  Their whiskers are an excellent substitute!  They find their way around with those whiskers!  The length of whiskers varies, if you look at their little faces, you can see new little, short whiskers as well as longer whiskers.  They don’t exactly grow to match your cat if he gets chonky… that’s a myth. 
3. Survey the environment.  In the same way that a cat’s whiskers help your cat to navigate to find its way around, cats can also learn about what is in the environment.  Through their whiskers, cats can pick up changes in vibrations caused by wind, movement, etc.  This enables them to find their prey, but also to be aware of there is a predator nearby.
4. Balance.  Cat’s whiskers help them balance.  The whiskers send signals to the brain and that allows cats to understand their body position.  Those weird little whiskers on the backs of their front paws are the reason your cat lands on her feet when she falls! 
5. Communication.  Want to be able to read your cat’s emotions?  You can do that through body language- tail position says a lot, but did you know that whisker position is equally as telling?  Curious cats raise their whiskers.  Fraidy cats pull their whiskers back.  When your kitty feels aggressive, he points them toward the object of his irritation.   

How can whiskers affect behavior?

Whisker fatigue:

Have you had a cat that always knocked over its food bowl?  Maybe your cat likes to splash water onto the floor and then lick it up?  That can certainly drive us crazy!  Kitty is trying to tell you that it’s an issue with the whiskers!  Your cat has sensitive whiskers!  Whether it’s ticklish or just irritating, the whiskers brushing up on the sides of the bowl are annoying your feline friend.  Try a shallow dish for food and water, or perhaps get a cat fountain.  I will say that I have read studies about this, and whisker fatigue associated with food bows has not been proven, but it’s difficult to prove or disprove as different cats are going to have different levels of sensitivity- it’s like comparing how ticklish you are to someone else- we aren’t all universally ticklish in the same ways.  If you are having an issue with your cat knocking over the food bowls, just give it a try- feed kitty off a plate and see if it helps! 

Well-being:

You see from the information above that cats need their whiskers.  They use them much the way we use any of our senses.  While trimming your cat’s whiskers won’t cause any physical pain (the whiskers themselves do not have nerves), your cat relies on them for many things.  Your cat will feel a bit discombobulated without them.  This can cause a cat to react as it would with any insecurity- and this depends on the cat.  Your cat may become clingy or just the opposite.  Your cat may lose balance and gracefulness.  Your cat just needs those whiskers to maintain well-being. 

Conclusion

Cat’s whiskers are adorable, but they do serve a purpose and are much more interesting than they may seem at first glance! If you’d like to learn more about how to keep your cat happy, check out another of my posts on how to build a strong connection with your furbaby.

Sources

Peter Hanlon, U. of M. (2023, January 9). Why a cat’s whiskers are the Bee’s knees. Pursuit. Retrieved January 14, 2023, from https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/why-a-cat-s-whiskers-are-the-bee-s-knees